The most valuable skill? 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE.

The Ricci Scholars Program is an innovative research and cultural immersion program organized around the theme of the meeting of East and West. It provides unparalleled opportunities for students to connect study abroad, experiential learning, and firsthand international research experience. This cultural immersion brings together the cultures of East and West in an educational context that reflects the complexities and opportunities of the 21st century.

This program provides round-trip airfare and research funds, as well as mentorship and research support, to students to spend their junior year studying and conducting cross-cultural research at Loyola's Rome Center for the fall semester, followed by a destination in East Asia for the spring semester. There are several options in East Asia: Kansai Gaidai University (Hirakata, Japan), Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, SAR), and Hanyang University (Seoul, South Korea).

Students prepare their research proposals and apply to the Ricci Scholars Program as sophomores, conduct research and take courses abroad as juniors, and present their projects as seniors and receive the formal graduation honor of Ricci Scholar as seniors.

Launched in the Fall of 2007, the Ricci Scholars Program is supported through a generous gift from a donor to Loyola.